


The Boy with the Cracked eyes

by SusanShining



Series: One-shots [3]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Diabetes, Gen, I did my best, Slight description of Violence, Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), foot removal, saporian takeover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusanShining/pseuds/SusanShining
Summary: When Eugene arrived at Old Corona, he thought he was taking a break.Turns out, not all of the citizens of the sunshine kingdom are as inviting as he was led to believe.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian
Series: One-shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997542
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	The Boy with the Cracked eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Varian one-shot because I was learning about a quite common disease and wondered what would happen if Varian had it. Most of these medical facts will probably be inaccurate, so don’t quote me on this or anything, but I’ll still try to be as true as possible.

When Eugene arrived at Old Corona, he thought he was taking a break. 

He thought it might be nice to take a stroll around the town while, get away while Rapunzel went through her first diplomatic mission as a princess. She had gone to meet the leader of Old Corona with her father, and, if he was being honest, he was glad that Fredrick told him that it was a private meeting between the leaders.

He had just purchased a bag of frosted sugar cookies for when Rapunzel was done when he heard loud voices coming from a small fountain on the side of the shop. And when he came around the corner to see what was happening, he was honestly shocked.

Turns out, not all of the citizens of the sunshine kingdom are as inviting as he was led to believe.

“Why do you have to show up and ruin our day with your stupid face, huh punk?” one boy said, towering over the raven-haired figure on the floor.

“You really should just put a bag over it and do us all a favor.”

The boy on the floor tried to struggle to his feet, limbs trembling violently. “But… but that would block my ability to see, and I already-”

“We didn’t ask for your smart-mouth opinion  _ Goggles.” _ another boy sneered and kicked the boy down on the floor. The boy whimpered and crumbled down, going limp, but his hands and arms were still shaking.

“Aww…. is the little baby scared?” the first boy taunted. “Maybe we should go get your little kitty and-”

“No!” the raven-haired boy cried out, pushing off against the wall and leaning against it to steady himself. “I-I’m not-”

“Stay down and  _ kneel  _ ‘alchemist,’ did we say you could stand up?” one boy made a move to kick him down again and Eugene decided that he’d seen enough.

“Hey! Cut it out!” he demanded, coming out of the shadows and storming forward. The bullies’ heads snapped in his direction before taking one good look at him and bolting.

“Scatter!” Once the boys had all left, Eugene turned back and hesitantly walked over to the still trembling victim.

“Uh, hey, you alright kid?” he asked and the boy and he looked up, and Eugene winced at the sight, finally knowing why the bullies called him ‘ugly.’ The skin around the kid’s eyes was red and puffy, and Eugene was almost tempted to blame that on punches to the face, but blows didn’t explain why one eye was looking left and up while the other was staring straight ahead.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. Thanks Mr.” the boy fiddled with fingers, breaking eye contact. “That’s- uh- not a lot of people do that. For-y’know, me. Heh, so- uh- thanks?”

“No problem,” Eugene told him, trying to look away. “Do they do that often?”

“Only when I come outside,” the kid admitted. “But don’t worry-uh- they don’t do anything permanent or anything.”

Eugene frowned. “That still doesn’t make it right.” he tapped his foot, considering something. “Do you need- I mean- do you want some help getting home? I have some time to spare.” The kid’s faces lit up, and Eugene felt a pang of sadness. The kid probably didn’t have anyone to help him out, or anyone who would  _ want  _ to help him out.

“That'd be  _ great  _ Mr.!” he paused, face shadowing over in a shadow. “But-um- I still need to-uh- feed my cat before heading home.” he looked down, arms still trembling.

“Ah,” Eugene looked down before tilting his head.  _ Wouldn’t his cat be at home? _

“So-uh- I’ll be going then, thanks again Mr.!” the kid waved good-bye before heading down the alley, and Eugene was left wondering what the heck just happened.

Staring after the kid’s retreating figure, he looked down at the box of cookies still in his hands and walked back into the town square.

_ I bet Rapunzel’s meeting is done already.  _ He told himself.  _ Better head over to her, she’ll be hungry. _

The walk over to the castle of Old Corona wasn’t that long, only about 15 minutes, and he soon found himself at the door, briefly glancing up at the setting sun. The Captain nodded to him and opened it, motioning to him that it was alright to come inside.

“Now once the carriage system-” The king looked up when the door opened and nodded at him. “Ah, Eugene, I’d like you to meet Quirin of Old Corona. Quirin, meet Eugene, my future son-in-law.”

The man, Quirin, stood up and offered his hand out to Eugene. “Pleasure to meet you Eugene. I’ve heard much about you.”

“Uh, all good things I hope,” Eugene said and Quirin smiled.

“Yes, of course! I think that the princess is very lucky to-”

_ Creek _

_ Click click click- _

Quirin stopped, looking towards the staircase, and sighed when the clicking continued for a few more moments before something dropped on the floor. “If you would excuse me one moment, my son needs to be off to-”

“You have a son?” Rapunzel asked excitedly. “Ohhh! Can we meet him?”

Frederick looks down at his daughter, expression loving, but a bit skeptical. “Rapunzel I don’t think-”

“Oh  _ please  _ Dad?” she asks him. “A few minutes past his bedtime wouldn’t hurt.”

“I guess it’s up to Quirin.” the king relents, turning to his friend. “What do you say? It might be nice for our children to know each other.”

Quirin hesitated. “Your Majesty I don’t think-” he paused when Rapunzel’s pleading expression caught his gaze. “-I guess it wouldn’t be  _ too  _ bad, but-” he sighed, then walked up to the stairs. “Varian? Would you like to come down?” When there wasn’t any response, he called up again. “I know you can hear me, come on out.”

Again, silence before: “No you don’t.”

Quirin chuckled a bit at this, Rapunzel letting out small cooing noises. “It’s okay, I’m not mad, why don’t you come down here so the princess can meet you?”

The boy was silent for a few moments before Eugene heard soft footsteps coming down, and once the boy’s figure came into view, Eugene recognized him immediately and almost stumbled over his own feet.

“Wait-  _ you’re  _ Quirin’s son?” he asked without thinking and the boy’s head snapped up, startled.

Quirin looked between the two of them, confused. “You’ve met?”

“I-I should p-probably get to bed now, n-night dad!” The boy made a rush up the stairs, but Quirin held out a hand to stop him.

The boy-Varian- winced at this, but stopped and Eugene distantly wondered why. “Yeah, I saw him today at the market, there was some-”

“You were at the  _ market? _ ” Quirin asked a bit harshly and Varian winced at his tone, fingers twitching harshly and he tried hiding them behind him. Seeming to not notice this, Quirin ran a frustrated hand down his face. “Varian, you know how I feel about you going out alone.”

“I-I know, but it was just a nice day out and I thought-” the boy seemed to shrink in on himself as he stopped, looking down shamefully. “I’m sorry dad.”

Quirin sighed, “It’s late, you should probably head to your room. We’ll discuss this in the morning.”

When the boy nodded and rushed to obey, Rapunzel and Eugene exchanged a look, the former plastering on a forced smile on her face when Quirin returned to the table.

“I’m sorry about that, he’s not usually like this.” the man apologized.

“S-so your son has an-uh- condition?” Rapunzel asked and Eugene winced at her forwardness.

Quirin seemed unfazed however and sighed, nodding. “Yes, he inherited it from his mother. It… was actually the reason she passed away, but Varian doesn’t seem to have it as bad as she did, which is good. He has developed a tremor disorder, however, and she didn’t have that.”

“Tremor disorder?” Eugene asked and Quirin hastened to explain.

“It causes his hands and sometimes his arms to shake almost constantly. They say it isn’t painful per-say, but it is still unpleasant for him at times.”

“Ah,”  _ So that explains the shaking.  _ “And… his skin?”

“That…” he sighed. “Well, I’m no doctor, and I don’t understand much, but it has something to do with blood sugar?” he shrugged half-heartedly. “The doctors aren’t too worried about him, but I’d like it if he would stay close.”

“Is that why you don’t want him going into the market?” Rapunzel asked him, voice a bit hard.

Quirin sighed. “Well, that and he has been facing some… difficulty getting along with other children his age, and I find it best if I’m there with him.”

The room was silent a bit, the group pondering on what to do next before Eugene spoke up.

“I’d still like to meet him a bit more,” he noted. “Mind if I go talk with him while you guys discuss…. Leader-ly things?”

Quirin studied him for a second before nodding. “Of course, the last door down the hall.”

Eugene gave Rapunzel a wink before thanking Quirin and heading up the stairs. On the way, he spotted a small mechanical toy and remembered hearing the kid drop something. Inspecting the toy, he spotted a large button on the side and, unable to resist, bushed in and heard a soft  _ click.  _ It didn’t seem to do anything else though, and he had a strong urge to push it again, but restrained himself, placing it in his pocket and striding down the hall.

Once he reached the door, he hesitated for a bit before knocking. “Uh, Varian? Mind if I come in?”

“Uh, yeah!” he heard the boy’s high-pitched voice sound through the door. “Just give me one sec.” he heard some shuffling around in the room before: “Come in.”

Eugene opens the door and spotted the boy sitting on the floor, looking up at him. “Hey kid, Varian, right?” he came into the room and smiled nervously. “I… don’t believe we’ve properly met.”

Varian winced a bit. “So… Did dad send you up here right? He… does that sometimes. He thinks it helps, but it’s okay, I know you don’t really want to. You can leave now.”

“What- no! I- I actually asked to see you,” he said, sitting down in front of the boy. “I-um, I’m Eugene, it's-uh, nice to meet you."

Varian seemed to perk up at this. "You- you mean Flynn Rider?" his expression split into a grin. "I- It's an honor to meet you sir. I-heh, I read all of the books about you, but-eh, I guess that wasn't really you?" 

Eugene blushed. "Heh, yeah. Not me, sorry about that kid." he paused. "So... you're dad's a bit rough, huh?" 

Varian cringed, "Well, not really. Going outside.... isn't the best thing for me as you-uh-as you saw." his finger twitched and Eugene reached into his pocket, remembering the toy. 

"Right... well, I found this on the floor. I think it's yours," he said, tossing it over to the boy. It hit him on the shoulder and Varian yelped, the toy landing on his lap. He blinked, picking it up. 

"Oh! heh, I-I forgot about this. Thanks!" and then, seeming to not be able to resist, started clicking the button furiously and Eugene winced at the noise, but soon grew accustomed to it.

"So... you like clicking that?" Eugene asked, not knowing what else to bring up.

Varian nodded. "Yeah, it makes this-" he held up a shaking hand. "worth it right? Like getting a bit of a reward in every twitch."

"Huh." Eugene's gaze searched the room, landing on a table covered with vials with multi-colored substances. "What's that? Medicine?"

Varian's grin grew wider and he took Eugene's hand, practically dragging the man over to the table. "Oh you're going to love this." he let go of the man's arm and picked up a green vial with shaking hands. "This is Quirinium, I use it to heat up water for tea, but it can also be used for anything," he smirked at the man and reached for a dropper, extracting a tiny bit of the liquid and holding it out to Eugene. "Would you like some?" 

The man took it hesitantly. "Uh, thanks?" 

Varian flinched a bit, but his smile remained in place. "It's called  _ alchemy. _ " he held out his gloved shaking hands to the side like he was showing off a prize. "I've been practicing it a lot, and I've-heh- I've gotten pretty good if I do say so myself." he reached over and picked up a purple ball. "I've wanted to share this with the royal guard, but dad never agreed to take me." he smiled sheepishly "So-uh, it might be nice if there was, uh,  _ someone _ close to the royal family to help out."

Eugene raised his eyebrow. "And what is it?"

Varian hesitated for a moment. "It-it might be best if you stay back for this one," he suggested and Eugene backed away, giving the boy space as he chucked it at the ground, smoke billowing out from the impact. Eugene coughed, but the smoke settled to reveal a goopy substance residing on the floor.

"Cool right?" the boy said, pulling out a white shaker and sprinkling it on the goop. "It can trap thieves and stuff without hurting them, and, bonus, it's purple!"

Eugene hummed in agreement. "I'll be sure to bring it up with Rapunzel sometime." he looked out the window. "I... guess you wouldn't happen to know why your dad called the king here right? They've been really tight-lipped about this entire thing.

Varian looked down. "Yeah... apparently there have been some rocks growing in our village, tearing up a lot of homes. No one's been hurt, thank goodness, but dad has been getting really worried. I haven't seen any, they're mostly focused on the outside of town."

Eugene froze at this. "Black rocks? Like, spike rocks? Just popping out of the ground?"

Varian shrugged. "As I said, haven't seen much, dad's been keeping me inside a lot lately, so not a lot of chances." he turned solum and his smile disappeared. "And... this." he pointed to his crooked eyes. "It.. makes my vision really blurry, so even if I might've, I didn't recognize it."

"Ah." Eugene nodded a bit. "So... you have diabetes?" he asked, finally recognizing the symptoms.

Varian smiled sadly. "Yeah, type 2, not as bad as type one, so that's good." he laughed nervously. "Dad doesn't like to think about it much."

"Your mom had it right?" he asked hesitantly, the two moving over to the boy's bed and sitting down. 

Varian clicked his toy harder. "Uh-Yup! But don't worry, I'm probably not going to-uh-" he swallowed harshly. "Yeah- not a preferable thing, but I- I have it better than her. She- she had a lot of stressful eating habits, so that's never good for this." 

They were silent for a little bit before Eugene spoke up again. 

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine." he went on when Varian looked curiously up at him. "I knew someone like this, and she- well, she had the chance to grow up. Have a life with a nice family. I still think she's doing fine to this day." 

Varian's smile returned. "Really?" 

"Yeah really!" Eugene grinned. "I fact, she's probably one of the kindest and healthiest women I know!"

Varian chuckled. "Who is she?"

"Anne Parks," he noted. "Wonderful woman, nice kids. She has a small fruit shop out in Equis, gives some out to little critters that come by."

"Critters?" Varian lit up. "Like raccoons?"

"Raccoons?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "They're her most common visitors. Well, they steal sometimes without asking, but she even named a few."

Varian hesitated for a bit. "I know a raccoon, named him Ruddiger." he gave a small laugh. "I thought he was a cat at first, but then someone yelled: "Raccoon!" and I got the picture." his clicking continued. "I-uh, I actually went to see him today. He likes it when I visit him."

"So that's why you went out? Huh." Eugene turned to think about it, but Varian jumped in.

"You-uh- can't tell dad about this okay? If he knows I'm hanging out with a wild animal-" he flinched. "I- I just- he's my only friend here you know?" he looked down and laughed sadly. "Pretty pathetic huh?"

Eugene's heart sank, but a thought came to him. "Well, I can be your friend," he noted casually. "I mean, I could come over here sometimes. Not this week though, the king's going out on his day-out and stuff, but I could come over after that."

Varian smiled at this. "R-really? I-thank you!" he grinned. "And-and then maybe we could have a picnic? I- I can't eat much, but I- I just always wanted to go on one." he blushed. "Would- would that be okay? I'm not sure if- I mean, I haven't really had a friend before, so-uh- don't really know what to do."

Eugene chuckled. "No no, that'd be great, I'd like that." he tilted his head. "What are you able to eat? I'm not really sure what-"

"Well nothing sugary" the boy jumped in. "Fiber and all that natural stuff." he grinned. "How about I bring some apples and you bring the blanket?" he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, my dad owns an orchard, so I would be the one to bring them and-"

"That sounds lovely." Eugene smiled at the kid. "How about Wednesday? Seem like a good day?"

Varian smiled and nodded. "Absolutely."

Varian and Eugene then said goodbye, and the man headed back to the capital. If he was being honest, he was a bit ecstatic about the picnic and awaited it throughout the week.

\------

But then the storm hit and everything went up in flames.

It came out of complete nowhere, and sent the kingdom into a panic, almost to the brink of evacuating before Rapunzel and Cass found a way to reverse it. He wanted to come on Wednesday, he really did, but Rapunzel was still traumatized from the event, so he regretfully made the decision to stay and be there for her. He sent a letter though, hoping the kid would understand if he postponed it for a few more days.

The letter that replied on Thursday was not one he would forget anytime soon.

_**"To Eugene Fitzherbert,** _

_**I'm sorry to hear about the Princess' distress, and hope that she would get better soon. However, it's probably for the best that you withhold your picnic with my son as he has contracted a few complications as of yet.** _

_**The sudden storm was not lucky for any of us, and caught many of us un aware from the danger. You see, the snow had been falling down quickly, covering most of the objects outside. I thought with the best of intentions that it might be nice for him to have some fun outside in the snow, but I believe that it may have been a mistake...."** _

As soon as Eugene received the letter, he had rushed to Old Corona as quickly as possible, not knowing if he could help, nor caring, but he needed to be there, to see for himself if it was really true. He already knew about the complications of having it, he knew how serious even a small scratch could be for Varian, but it was still unbelievable to think about.

**_"I do believe that you have been informed of the rock situation. But as unfortunate as it has been on my town, and as cautious as I thought I've been, I should've been more aware of how close they were..."_ **

Once the door was open, Quirin caught his hand before he could rush out the door. 

"Thank you Eugene," he said and the man nodded. 

Quirin let go of his hand and Eugene bolted up the stairs. Once he arrived at the door, he hesitated. What was he actually going to do here? Pop in and... what? 

**" _The surgery should take place today. The doctors want to prevent any internal infections, so they're planning on taking the lesser of the two evils. We might get a prosthetic if Varian sees fit. He seems more focused on the fact that he might be getting a peg-leg after this is over. It seems like he's chosen to focus on the fact that he'd make an even better pirate for the town's Peter Pan musical this year. If I'm being honest, his mind-set has me concerned, but he's been looking better."_**

Taking a deep breath, Eugene opened the door and strode in, taking in the scene. 

Varian was laying on his bed, a blanket covering his left leg and torso, leaving a bandaged right-foot exposed. He was breathing heavily, sweat beading on his face, looking like he was fighting a losing battle, but looked up and  _ smiled _ when the man walked in. 

"Oh, hey Eugene." Varian grinned tiredly up at him and Eugene strode over, speechless. It was one thing knowing about it, and another thing to actually  _ see _ it. "Sorry we had to hold back our picnic, I-ah, got a little bit  _ cut-up _ in something here. Heh." he tried wiggling his right foot's toes to convey his meaning and gasped in pain at it. "O-okay, probably not my best joke, but hey, at least it wasn't  _ too _ bad."

Eugene winced, "Yeah, sure kid." he pulled up a chair and sat down on it. "So... you doing alright kid? And no, you don't need to sugar-coat it. This... yeah, this isn't great." 

Varian bit his lip. "It- it just- it  _ hurts. _ " his eyes grew glassy. "But I- It's not the  _ worst _ thing to happen though. At least it only went through my foot. If it went through my- my-" he shut his eyes tight, trying to get the image out of his head. "It-it's going to be fine later though. R-right? I- I heard of things getting infected and people not- I mean, I-never saw blood before and I still don't- it just- it needs to stay inside right? Then- then I'll be fine." 

Eugene's heart broke seeing the kid like this, but nodded, plastering a small smile on his face. "Yeah, you're going to be fine Varian." he hesitated for a bit before speaking again. "So you stepped on a black rock? That- that doesn't seem- I mean, what exactly happened?" 

Varian turned his head away shamefully. "I didn't see it. I rolled up a snowball and stomped my foot down on it. I was trying to pretend that I was trapping a mouse, like a cat, but I was just being an idiot."

"Varian, you're not an idiot," Eugene told him. "I doubt anyone could've seen that, especially with your vision. You were just a kid trying to have fun, there's nothing to be ashamed about." 

"I thought it was a glove or something," Varian noted dully. "I saw a black object on the ground and thought it was a stormin'  _ glove. _ " his fingers twitched, making the toy from before  _ click. _ "Don't say I wasn't because I  _ was. _ I knew that there were black rocks in the village, and the thought didn't even occur to me that they'd be that tiny." 

"Still not your fault." Eugene insisted. "Not even your dad knew they were that small."

Varian winced. "It just went straight  _ through _ Eugene. One moment my foot was fine and the next there- there was just so much- I- I couldn't even pull it off!" he blinked hard. "I couldn't- it just kept  _ hurting _ I didn't-" a tear leaked out. "I just- fainted right there- it- and it was cold and-" 

"Hey, kid?" Eugene snapped his fingers when Varian's eyes started to glaze over. "It's ok, anyone else would've had a hard time in that position too, and it doesn't make you an idiot, it makes you human, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Varian blinked at Eugene, the words registering in his mind. "I- yeah. That- that works." Varian gave him a small smile. "Thank you." 

"No problem kid." Eugene smiled. 

Varian seemed to remember something and his face fell. "Well, now I'm going to be a pirate." he huffed jokingly. "They make mistakes too right?" 

Eugene chuckled. "Yeah, sure they can, but just because you're going to have a peg-leg, doesn't mean you're a pirate." he thought for a second before saying: "And if I catch you even  _ thinking _ of becoming one, I will personally ensure that you are wooden-leg forbidden." 

Varian rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm actually kinda considering it..." 

Eugene's face turned serious. "Then you can say good-bye to a prosthetic.." 

The two boys met each other's gaze and Varian cracked first, giggles coming out of his mouth and Eugene joined in and the two boys laughed together until the door behind them opened to reveal two men carrying a brown bag each and they stopped abruptly.

The man in front looked between them before stepping in. "It's time," he told them and Varian paled. 

"O-oh. Is it?" Varian's arms began to shake 

"It's going to be alright kid."Eugene hurried to assure him. "They know what they're doing." 

"We do." the second doctor strode over to Varian's bed, pulling out a small vial of liquid. "This should sedate you," he said and Varian took it, hesitantly tipping it into his mouth. "It should kick in after a few minutes while we get everything set up."

Varian nodded absently and Eugene could already see the drug starting to take effect, but he could still see the fear lying behind the drowsiness. 

"I'll be here when you wake up, alright?" he promised without hesitation and Varian looked over at him before his eyes wandered to a small basket of apples by the door. 

"Could you... take 'im some apples? he asked tiredly. "Ruddiger needs some apples... or he's gonna steal and then dad'll be mad... and POOF! No m're Ruddiger."

Eugene chuckled and nodded. "The... raccoon right?" he nodded, striding over and picking up the basket. "I'll be right back."

"I know..." Varian waved at him. "I'm gonna stay right here... don't worry, 'm gonna be okay... just a little nap and they 'm good...." his eyes started to drift closed and Eugene smiled when the boy's breathing evened out. 

Nodding the doctors good luck, he turned and began to leave the house. He spotted Quirin working on something at the table but didn't wait around to find out. 

Going outside, he spotted the trash-thief right away, sitting under a tree and munching on the core of an apple. When the raccoon spotted him and his basket and went to run away, but hesitated when Eugene set the basket down and waited for the raccoon to finally decide to come over.

"Hello, you must be Ruddiger." Eugene greeted the rodent and the raccoon narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. The animal chittered something before snatching and apple, rushing away a bit, and chowing down on it. 

Eugene chuckled at this and looked back at the castle of Old Corona, hating to think of what was going to happen in there. Varian was already dealing with enough stuff, and now he was going to lose his foot? 

"What would you do, if you could talk?" he asked the raccoon when the critter came back to pick up another apple. "I half wonder if you even understand what's happening." 

Rudiger perked up at this and tilted his face at Eugene. He chittered something and followed the man's solemn gaze. Seeming to feel the man's emotions, he strutted forward, picked up an apple out of the basket, and held it out to the man.

Eugene raised an eyebrow at this gesture but shook his head. "No thanks, I'm good. Thanks though." 

He distantly thought about going back right then and there, but realized that it probably wasn't over yet, so there he sat with the raccoon as Ruddiger ate apple after apple. Did that rodent had any self-control? 

Eventually, he spotted the two figures of the doctors come out of the castle, bidding Quirin farewell and handing him a few vials of medicine before leaving. Looking over at the raccoon, who was currently laying on his back, patting his very full stomach, Eugene smiled a bit at the critter. 

"You're going to have the  _ worst _ stomach ache after this," he told the raccoon, who only waved him off as the man stood up and began to head back.

Once he arrived back in Varian's room, Quirin looked up at him from his position at Varian's side. 

"Ah, Eugene. I had thought you left." 

"Varian just asked me to go do something," he informed the father, not mentioning Rudiger. He sat down on his own chair and tried not to stare at the bandaged stump on Varian's leg. They had cut off more than he thought they would, stopping right below the knee. 

"The infection had spread deeper than we first assumed," Quirin explained. "We hope that now that the wound is at the surface, we can prevent it from spreading more, giving his body as much time as it needs to heal." 

"How long do you think that'd take?" Eugene asked and Quirin sighed. 

"Normally it would take four to eight weeks, but with his condition... We think it might take at least 12."

"Any news for a prosthetic?"

Quirin smiled slightly and held up a small metal object for Eugene to see. "I... used to tinker with things as a boy, I thought I might give it a try."

Eugene stared at the metal limb, then cracked a small smile. "How about I be the one to tell him that he's not going to be able to play pirate?"

Quirin raised an eyebrow before smiling and nodding and the two men went silent, waiting for Varian to finally wake up.

They stayed like that for who knows how long before Varian finally stirred awake. Blinking open bleary eyes, he stared at the two men fuzzily. 

"Mornin'..." 

"Hey kid, how are you doing?" 

"Good... A bit sleepy, but I'm okay." he smiled up at them before his expression shadowed over and his gaze jerked down to his foot and Eugene could tell that he was starting to panic. 

"Varian, deep breathes okay? Look at me, it's going to be okay. You're fine." he tried assuring the boy, but Varian just kept staring at the bloodied bandage, breathing picking up. 

"I- I don't- I can't- I can't feel it-" Varian tore his gaze away from it, looking green before pushing himself up into a sitting position and covering his mouth with a hand. 

A gagging sound came out and Quirin's eyes widened before quickly grabbing the mug of water sitting on the bed-side table, tossing the water on the floor and shoving the object to Varian just in time for the boy's stomach to heave out its contents into the cup

It didn't go on for long, the boy hadn't eaten much these past few days, but when he was done, He looked pale and his hands were shaking as Quirin took the cup from him to prevent the bile from spilling. 

"That's it, Varian, you've been doing great." the father spoke encouraging words to his son as he returned from spilling the cup out the window, the contents probably landing on the bushes below.

Varian said nothing however as he stared blankly ahead, wrapping his arms around himself. "It-it's still bleeding," he noted shakily. "I- I thought it would stop."

Eugene winced. "It- it's not going to stop for a while, but it'll get better Varian. You'll see." 

"But- but it won't grow back right? F-feet can't grow back." he blinked, looking back at his leg before shuddering and turned his gaze to his father, eyeing the metal leg the man was holding. "Is-is that it?" he asked hesitantly and Quirin nodded. 

"We can't put it on yet," he said when Varian grabbed at it. "The wound isn't ready for it."

"But- but I need to get up!" Varian lurched over the bed to snatch it out of Quirin's hand but the older man held it away. 

"Varian, please, you're not-"

"NO!" Varian hoped out of the bed, reaching up for it. "Dad- please- I- I need to-"but unfortunately he didn't have anything supporting his right side as he tried to stand up and toppled over onto the ground. He cried out in pain when this placed pressure on his bandaged stump and Eugene rushed to his side.

"Varian! Are you okay?" he tried picking the boy up, but Varian pushed him away, using his arms and remaining leg to steady himself against his bed to stand up.

"I'm *fine.*" he snapped, panting from the exertion. "Just-" his gaze caught the red bandages and he squeezed his eyes shut when he saw some of the red liquid seeping through. 

The blood wasn't being held back with the bandages well enough. It began to seep through onto the floor with a steady *drip, drip.* There was a red stain on the wooden floor and Varian felt his stomach heave again, but there was nothing left inside of it. His expression flickered and he felt cold overcome his senses, the blood rushing to his ears.

"Varian? Stay with us." he heard Eugene say next to him and his gaze was forcefully torn away from the bleeding stump. Eugene's hand had tilted his head up and away from the scene, but the image was still engraved in his mind.

"I'll go get some more bandages," Quirin told them and hurried out the door. "Keep him awake."

"You're going to be fine Varian, just keep your eyes on me, okay? You're doing great. Deep breaths." Eugene reminded him and Varian took in a shuddering breath, realizing that he had stopped.

"It-it just keeps- just keeps coming and-" he shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the throbbing pain of his leg screaming at him. He wanted to just keep them shut, like somehow by not seeing it made it so it didn't hurt, but Eugene just shook his shoulders firmly, but not roughly and Varian cracked them open.

"Varian I know it hurts, but you have to stay awake alright?"

Varian groaned. "Noo..." he shook his head weakly, suddenly feeling very tired. "Lemmie sleep...." 

Eugene frowned pityingly at the boy. "I know you're tired, but we need to make sure you're alive when we change out your bandages okay?" he looked up when the door opened and his father rushed forward with a roll of white cloth and Eugene hurried to lay Varian down on the bed. 

"Prop his leg up, we want gravity to work with us here," Quirin instructed and Eugen hurried to pile some pillows under Varian's leg, folding a towel on top to protect the items from stain. Once this was done, it was time to replace the bandages. 

Quirin reached for the stump with his gloved hands, hesitating a moment before grabbing ahold of the end of the bandage and began unwrapping it.

Varian cried out when the cloth came off, pulling at his flesh as it was ripped off his skin. Eugene hurried to hand him the thick leather of the goggles from the kid's desk and Varian hurried to bite down on it.

The wound had begun to scab over, so the blood didn't immediately gush out, but slowly streamed out onto the towel as Quirin hurried to remove the stained bandages. It was a nasty sight, and Eugene was glad that the kid violently looked away, trying to find a distraction anywhere else and meeting Eugene's brown eyes.

"You're doing great Var, just hang in there." Eugene squeezed the boy's hand reassuringly when the blue-eyes glazed over in pain at the final pull, bringing him back to the present.

"Half-way done." Quirin updated them and pulled out a long strip of white cloth. "Just hang in there a little bit more son, and then you can go back to sleep, alright?"

"Mhmm." Varian squeezed his eyes and bit down on the goggles leather as Quirin gently wrapped the first layer of cloth around the wound before pulling the strip tight and continued on.

The white cloth turned red and Varian instinctively squirmed, trying to relieve the pressure on his leg. Eugene held him still however and Varian whimpered, the pain clouding his thoughts.

And then it was finally finished and Quirin let go of Varian's wound as the boy let the leather fall out of his mouth, breathing heavily.

"It's over now Varian," Eugene told him. "You can sleep now," Varian looked over at him dully, eyelids growing heavy, but he couldn't sleep yet. 

"Thank you..." he mumbled, his eyes were closed now, not able to stay awake any longer as he drifted off.

Eugene smiled down at the sleeping boy and looked up when a ray of sunlight hit his face. It was coming from a window, and he was startled to realize that it was sunset and that Rapunzel was probably worried about him.

However...

"It's okay," Quirin said from beside him. "I'll take it from here."

Eugene returned the man's smile gratefully and, with one last look at Varian's peaceful form, left the room.

\-----

Three months later, Varian and Eugene looked out at the sun falling behind the countryside, signaling the end of a new day.

Or, for Eugene, a new chapter in his crazy life as Rapunzel's boyfriend.

"So... you're leaving?" Varian asked from beside him, and Eugene inwardly winced. He knew the question was coming, but it still hurt to answer.

"Yeah, I am." he sighed. "Rapunzel's going out there Varian, I have to come with her."

Varian went silent for a bit, looking over at the sunset from his leaned form at Eugene's side. His metal leg clinked as he shifted his weight slightly. He had been able to put it on today, the skin at last sealing over. It was still red and raw, but Varian was stubborn in insisting that he leave the house that day.

After all, they still needed to have their picnic.

And it was Eugene's last day in Corona.

"Do you... know when you'll be back?" the boy asked from beside him and Eugene's heart ached, hating that he'd have to leave the kid he had grown to love over the last three months.

"No... not really," he admitted, swallowing down the lump that formed in his throat. "It... we still don't know where the rocks are going to take us. They could be headed anywhere. I don't even know if it'd take a month, or a week..." he sighed. "For all I know, it could take a year before we get back." he ran a soothing and comforting hand through Varian's raven hair. "But I *promise* Varian. I'll come back to you. No matter what."

Varian smiled up at him for a beat, eyes dulling for a second as he considered something. "Could I... come with you? I swear I'll be good, just..." he buried his head into Eugene's side. "I don't want you to leave."

Eugene's heart broke seeing Varian like this, and all he wanted to do at that moment was say: _"Yes. Of course, you can."_ and the two of them could go on the adventure of a lifetime together.

But then his eye caught sight of Varian's metal foot and his heart dropped.

No... He wasn't going to be able to come.

"I... I'm sorry Varian." he wrapped the kid in a tight hug. "I wish you could. I really do, but...." he squeezed tighter when Varian began to tremble, the boy already knowing the answer, but it still *hurt.* "If you get hurt out there... on the road- I- I wouldn't know what to do."

Varian's eyes teared up as he hugged Eugene back. "I- I know." he whimpered. "I just- I don't know what- you-" he cried into Eugene's shoulder. "I- I know you're going to come back but-" he tightened his grip on the older man. "What- what if- what if you don't?"

Eugene pulled away from the hug, "Hey..." he gripped Varian's shoulders tightly, the kid blinking away stray tears as their two eyes met. "I'm going to be fine, alright?" when the boy still didn't look convinced, his hands moved down to Varian's and squeezed them confidently. "I promised you I would didn't I?"

Varian shakingly nodded, his lip trembling, and Eugene was reminded of the first time he met Varian. The kid trying to act so brave even when he was moments away from losing his leg.

Now, he was finally able to break.

"And besides," Eugene smiled gently at him. "Who's going to take care of Corona while we're away?"

Varian smiled, wiping away his tears. "I guess that could be me, but I doubt that a crippled diabetic would be any use against an army."

"Varian, you're not just some kid," Eugene told him. "You're smart, intelligent, and persistent. I know that leaving Corona in your capable hands, it's going to take quite the force to get past you."

Varian grinned. "I won't let you down."

Eugene gave him a proud smile before picking up their box of strawberries. "You never will. Now common, I believe we still haven't finished our dinner."

\--------

Varian was waving out his window when Eugene passed Old Corona on their departure, Eugene had to resist the urge to jump off the caravan and dash up to the room where they spent so many treasured hours together.

He could only wave back, hoping with all his heart that they would meet again soon, and that when they did, they could wrap each other in a hug and never let go.

Little did he know that reality often laughed in the face of those childish wishes.

\-----

When Eugene arrived at Corona, he wanted to rush over to Varian's house as quickly as possible. He really did, but one look at the Capital and Feldspar's comment about the king ordering citizens to mine crystals, and he couldn't rest until he got to the bottom of it.

But when the Saporians showed up, the only emotion he could feel, was anger. Who were they to take over and enslave an entire kingdom?

And then they pulled out a purple glass ball and Eugene's heart dropped like a stone.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Eugene growled at Andrew, but the man only smirked tauntingly.

"Oh! So you recognize this?" he tossed the ball back and forth between his hands. "The kid's quite intelligent, I would be shocked if you hadn't heard of our little alchemist."

Wordlessly, Eugene unsheathed his sword harshly and the rest of the group pulled out their own weapons. "I swear if you hurt him-" he began but was interrupted when an object went flying at them, crashing to the floor and releasing blue gas into the room. Taking up a defensive position, the coronians formed into a circle, guarding their backs.

A purple bomb came flying at them and Eugene dodged, rushing toward where it came from blindly. Rapunzel called out at him to come back, but Eugene could barely hear her over the blood pumping in his ears. 

The shine of a metal sword cut through the air and Eugene furiously blocked it, swatting it out of the way as he turned to face the Saporian leader.

"You know, it really is a shame," Andrew noted dryly as their weapons clashed. "The kid fought so hard to try and stop us, but anything he tried ultimately failed." a sadistic grin cracked on the man's face. "But of course we couldn't put such a valuable tool to waste."

Eugene glared at the man, yanking his blade back and twisting Andrew's own weapon out and away, clashing on the floor and effectively disarming him. The man didn't look too concerned however and only backed away, holding his hands up in mock-surrender, a smug grin on his face.

"Varian is  _ not _ a  _ tool _ ." Eugene glared at him, holding the tip of the blade threateningly under the saporian's chin. "Now  _ where is he _ ?"

Andrew smirked at something behind Eugene. "Right behind you."

Andrew's words barely registered in his head as something swished through the air toward him and Eugene rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging a goop-trap that appeared right where he used to be standing. 

"Ah, there you are." Andrew's sickly voice sounded and Eugene stared in horror and disbelief at the all-too-familiar figure glaring at him. His clothes were different, sure, and he might've grown an inch or two, but there was no mistaking that familiar blue streak and messy raven hair. "We were wondering when you'd show up." 

Varian wordlessly unclipped another purple orb from his belt and aimed it confidently at Eugene, a glare filled with so much hatred it was hard to believe that it was  _ actually him. _

"Sorry, got a little held up." Varian picked up Andrew's fallen sword and tossed it over to the man, still keeping his glare locked on Eugene. "Hello,  _ Rider. _ Nice seeing you here."

“Kid?" Eugene stumbled to his feet. "Varian, what's going on? It's me, Eugene." 

"Oh! So you're  _ Eugene _ now huh?" Varian scoffed coldly. "What kind of place did you get that dumb idea?" 

"Easy Goggles," Andrew placed a steadying hand on the kid's shoulder. "You and Flynn here can hash things out later, but for now, let's hold things off until he's behind bars alright?" Varian's jaw tensed, but shut up and Eugene's mind whirled, trying to make sense of what was happening before a thought came to him and his blood went cold and he struggled to find the right words to say. 

"Varian, I- I don't know what they've told you but you can't-" 

"Shut  _ up!" _ Varian snapped and hurled the purple ball at Eugene's feet. "You don't get to tell me what to do!" 

Eugene danced out of the way, eyes briefly scanning the room for his allies. Max and Lance were currently fighting off 4 saporians themselves, Rapunzel was blocking and taking down two herself, and Cass- 

_ Cass isn't here anymore. He _ mentally slapped himself and turned back to his opponents. 

He was alone.

Lowering his sword, he turned to Varian, trying to ignore the way Andrew stepped in front of the boy, almost as if he was protecting Varian from  _ him. _

"Varian, I know it's hard to believe, but the saporians aren't your friends. They-" 

"Eugene!" his head snapped over to where he heard Rapunzel's frantic voice and spotted his friends backed up against the wall, the saporians closing in, and without a second thought, he rushed over to join them. 

And suddenly there they were, cornered as Andrew smirked down at them, laying a taunting arm around Varian's shoulders that just looked  _ wrong _ on so many levels. 

"Guess you should've stayed out on the road, huh Flynn?" the man asked and Eugene snarled at him, but looked back at Varian. 

"Kid, stand down. They took your memory away. We're  _ brothers. _ I'm not going to fight you." 

Varian's glare flickered for a second before hardening and it ripped Eugene's heart in two. "Then why'd you leave huh? Chasing after some stupid legend?" he held out his arms, and for the first time, he realized with a shock, they weren't shaking.

"The Saporian's didn't hurt me, they  _ fixed _ me. And you- and you just-" he stopped, rage flashing in his eyes as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a glowing green box, moving to throw it at them, but when he stopped and doubt clouded his features, Andrew made the choice for him. Grabbing ahold of the box, he tossed it over to the group and it erupted in a burst of white light.

\-----

When Eugene came to, Rapunzel was shaking him awake, and everything hurt.

"Eugene get up! We need to get out of here!"

Eugene groaned and opened his eyes, sitting up. "Where- where's Varian?"

"Not the time!" she grabbed his hand and yanked him up, dragging him away from the rubble. "They're coming!"

He stumbled after her, blinking to clear his head. "But- but we need to-"

"We will," she assured him, not halting as they fled from the palace. "Just... later okay?"

"But Varian-" he tried protesting as Rapunzel yanked him behind a crate. 

" _ Not now. _ " Rapunzel insisted. They were at Xavier's blacksmith's shop, but there was no sign of the blacksmith anywhere. "We need to have a plan first." 

He went silent, feeling dejected and defeated. He remembers with a stab of guilt the last time the two of them talked, Eugene telling Varian that he was to protect the kingdom when they were gone. He remembers the sounding "I won't let you down." the Varian told him. 

_ How could I have let this happen? _ he asked himself before a soft voice spoke up in front of them and they looked up to spot Xavier becoming them into a passage through the furnace. 

"Princess! Come in here, with me."

So they followed Xavier through the tunnel and into the darkness. Eugene could barely focus however, zoning out to Xavier's explanation on what had happened to the capital and its people, only looking up when a strikingly familiar figure strode up to him. Eugene was a bit startled when he recognized Varian's father and followed him as Quirin guided Eugene over to a table and sat him down. 

"I would say welcome home," Quirin began, pouring them each a small cup of tea. "But... Corona isn't the same place under Saporian rule, is it?" 

"Quirin..." Eugene hesitated, unsure of how to continue. "We- we saw Varian and he-They just- What  _ happened? _ "

Quirin sighed, expression falling. "I don't know. When the king and queen ordered us into the mines, he suspected something was wrong, but I never thought he would actually-" he sighed, running a stressed hand down his face. "He infiltrated the castle and was caught somehow. The king charged him with treason, and was placed into service under the crown. I... I couldn't do anything."

Eugene stared at the father, a mix of emotions stirring up. He wanted to yell at the man, blame him for letting Varian stay with those people and abandoning the kid to be mind-wiped and manipulated. And he would've, he could've, but once he noticed the slumped form of the man and the numb look on the father's face and... he  _ couldn't. _

"He wasn't hurt," Eugene said after a beat. "Just... they took his memory, Quirin. And he's  _ angry. _ I... I don't know what they've told him, but he... I could barely recognize him." 

Quirin went silent, but he looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders knowing that his son was alright, but Eugene couldn't resist another question. 

"Also... did the Saporians really fix his tremor disorder? I mean, it seems likely with all their dealings with magic and stuff, but... I don't know, it doesn't seem right." 

Quirin sighed, "I don't know what happened either. I want to hate them for hurting my home and family, but if they really did fix his arms, I want to thank them at the same time." 

"I guess we'll just have to find out," he said, smiling a bit. "We... ran into the wand of Oblivion on the road, so after this is done, we should be able to restore Varian's memories."

Quirin looked up, a spark in his eyes. "Really?" his gaze wandered over at Xavier's shelves of ingredients and he stood up, examining one of the jars. "Do you think we have everything? It might be best if we get it ready now, then we could get Varian out of there and the Saporians wouldn't have the option of using him anymore."

Eugene's eyes lit up at this, striding over to Quirin's side and looking for the items he knew were in the soup. "I think Rapunzel wrote the recipe down in her journal, I'll go get it." 

Quirin nodded and Eugene went off, finding his girlfriend outside, working on fixing her frying pan. She seemed tense, angry even, and with a start, he remembered that he was not the only person dealing with difficult feelings surrounding a friend. 

"Blondie? You doing okay?"

"Oh! Yeah!  _ Sure." _ she plastered a smile on her face and dunked the red-hot metal in a barrel of water, sending steam billowing into the air. She pulled the now-cool frying pan out and smiled at it before turning to her boyfriend. "But how are you? I saw you talking with Quirin over there, how'd that conversation go?"

"Oh, yeah. It was good, we actually are going to need to see the recipe to reverse Varian's memory, but..." he noted, but frowned. "How have you been? You've been through a lot lately, not to mention what went down with Cass-"

"Oh! Cass. Yeah. Haven't even thought about her." Rapunzel brushed off his comment and stepped over to where her bag lay. "Let me get that recipe for you though."

"Blondie..." Eugene began but was interrupted when Rapunzel shoved her open diary into his hands. "Look, I just want you to know that you're not alone in this." 

"I'm fine Eugene, you take care of Varian." she insisted, turning back her frying pan a squirting some yellow paint in it, spreading it out in a sun-shape. 

He wanted to protest, but then his mind snapped to Varian's eyes, so full of hatred and anger and he quickly pecked Rapunzel on the cheek, thanked her, and went back down to the basement. 

\----

Luckily, they weren't missing anything and once it was all added into the pot and left to simmer over the fire, it was only a matter of waiting and finding the right way to give it to Varian. They theorized that perhaps Varian would have a guest room, and at night, they could sneak in and rescue the boy. 

Unfortunately, Rapunzel's unannounced departure through their entire plan into the air.

They had no choice but to take the reversal potion as it was, and hurry up their planning. Knowing that if Rapunzel was caught, she would probably be placed in prison, they headed over to the secret tunnel entrance and entered the dungeons.

"...gene*does* care... came over... trust me, he does." Eugene heard Rapunzel's muffled voice speaking and his ears perked up when he heard Varian's soft voice answer back.

"It doesn't matter anyway, Corona will be destroyed in less than an hour, and- *frick.* Stupid lock! We're running out of time here." he heard the rattling of metal bars as he rounded the corner and took in the scene. Rapunzel and Varian were locked in the cell, Rapunzel's hair wrapped around a bar on the door, tugging at it while Varian was feebly reaching through the bars for a lock-pick lying just outside of his reach.

Rapunzel's eyes lit up when she spotted his approaching figure. "Eugene!" The other part of the group had left to investigate a commotion the Saporians were making outside, and he had chosen to continue on.

"Guys! You're okay!" he rushed over, picking up Varian's lock-pick and getting to work on the door. "What happened?" 

"Your princess here was an idiot and came into the castle-like she still owned the place." Varian scowled at Eugene and the man winced, but soon had the door opened as Varian went on. "But it turns out that-" he faltered, shriveling into himself as a thought came to him. "Nevermind."

Eugene frowned, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder instinctively, but Varian just scooted away, not welcoming something he usually accepted gladly. 

"I- I'm sorry," he said, sending an apologetic look at Eugene. "I know- I know now that what they said was just a lie, but-" he sighed. "I can't. Alright? Just... I'm not the person you knew me to be."

"So... you remember?" Eugene asked hesitantly, but Varian shook his head.

"No... I don't, but- they admitted to everything okay?" Varian finally snapped, snatching his lock-pick from out of Eugene's hand and walking out of the cell, freeing Pascal from his small cage on the other side of the hallway. "Just... I know what they did, but it- it doesn't fix everything!" he picked up the chameleon and turned to the man. "Just- I can't just-" he let out a frustrated sigh, face crumpling a bit. 

"It's ok." Eugene told him, moving over. "I... probably would feel the same if this happened to me, and I get that those feelings that you had didn't just go away after knowing the truth, and that's okay." he pauses. "And... when this is over, we can fix your memories, and you'll be fine."

Varian looked up at him, a swirl of emotions dancing in his eyes, but, after a long moment, he nodded and the group rushed upstairs.

Once they arrived in the castle courtyard, they spotted the Saporians loading huge barrels onto the airship and the balloon began to rise. Wasting no time, they dashed forward, and Eugene was shocked to find him easily keeping pace with them despite his missing leg. 

"If they get high enough and drop those barrels, it'll destroy Corona," Varian informed them as they neared the airship. "This ship can't leave the ground."

"Got it." Rapunzel and Eugene agreed and the Saporians finally seemed to notice them.

"Get us out of here Kai!" Andrew demanded and the balloon began rising faster, the separatists hopping on it and Rapunzel threw a strand of hair up, latching onto the railing and them climbing up onto the deck.

And suddenly, Andrew was there, aiming the Wand of Oblivion at their faces.

"You shouldn't have come back, kid," Andrew said when Varian tensed. "They're not going to get your memories back. You're long past the time frame."

Eugene froze, the words hitting him like a brick. "No. You- You're lying."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Don't think I didn't notice your reaction to it. You're familiar with this, aren't you?" he twirled the stick threateningly as the balloon rose higher into the air. Eugene distantly heard cries of alarm coming from the courtyard below, but he could barely think.

He looked over at Varian, and his heart snapped at the dejected look upon the boy's face as Varian numbly pulled out a small object.

"Varian he- no. We can fix this I pro-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep Eugene," Varian told him, gaze hardening at the object in his hand. "Besides, I already know who I am." And, with one fluid motion, he chucked the object outward, it swishing through the air and an audible  _ snap _ was heard as the airship lurched to the side, 5 of the ropes being cut in one fell swoop.

Everyone scrambled to find their footing, but gravity was too strong and they fell to the floor, sliding over to the edge of the airship. Some of the barrels almost fell over, but Rapunzel grabbed them with her hair and Varian sealed them shut with goop traps, preventing and of the liquid from falling out.

Trying to not fall over as the ship tipped sideways, everyone gripped onto the railing, but most of the Saporians fell off, them thankfully landing safely on piles of straw they had piled up earlier to feed their horses, but, of course, Andrew remained on the ship, trying to hold on while also gripping fiercely onto the Wand of Oblivion.

But once Varian saw this, he didn't even hesitate to lunge at the man brutally, trying to push him off the edge.

Eugene was honestly shocked at Varian's anger. Sure, Andrew did a terrible thing, but-  _ Varian... Varian would never- _

A flash of purple lightning streaked across the sky and interrupted him. Varian stumbled over with a gasp of pain. However, the ship lurched again and Varian tipped over with a cry of panic, Eugene instinctively lunging over and grabbing Varian's hand, grunting at the boy's weight as he attempted to pull Varian up. 

With less weight keeping it down, the airship had begun to rise higher. Andrew had also landed in a pile of straw, but that, unfortunately, was 20 meters ago.

Eugene tried pulling Varian up, but it was difficult with the ship moving back and forth as it was. Rapunzel wasn't able to help, she was too busy trying to keep the bombs from falling over. 

"Varian? It- It's going to be fine ok?" he tried to assure the boy, but Varian was barely paying attention, eyes glazed over in pain, and, with a start, Eugene realized that the wand probably didn't survive the fall. 

_ He's remembering. _

He wanted to cry out in joy, but looking at Varian's panicked expression, he realized that this probably wasn't a good time.

"Eu-Eugene I-" Varian tried speaking but was cut-off when Rapunzel was finally able to secure the barrels and come over to help. The couple heaved Varian up, the teen's frame trembling as he tried to wrap his arms around himself.

"We need to lower this ship," Rapunzel told them, probably not realizing what was happening in Varian's mind, but the boy nodded in agreement, eyes coming back to the present and scouring the ship for anything they could use.

"I- Eugene and I could climb up to the balloons and let out their air while you make sure the bombs don't fall. It should be able to fall slowly enough so that we'll survive, but the courtyard will have to be cleared of everyone."

"Then we have a plan." Rapunzel nodded at them. "You better hurry before this flies over the city, then we wouldn't be able to land it without causing damage."

"Got it." Eugene said, inching across the edge with Varian. He knew that Varian probably wasn't ready to do anything at the moment, he remembered when Rapunzel came back. It had taken a little bit for her to collect everything, and even that was only a day under the spell. Eugene didn't even know how long Varian was under it, and he was a completely different person just a few minutes ago. It was probably a  _ lot _ worse for him.

"Eugene I-" Varian tried speaking to him as they used the railing as a latter to climb up the airship. "I just- I'm so sorry. I was a jerk and- and I should've never-"

"Varian it wasn't your fault." Eugene looked back at him. "You didn't have a choice in the matter, and it was my fault that you got into this mess."

"But-"

"It wasn't your fault Varian." The boy still didn't look convinced, but they continued on, reaching the rope of the balloon and Varian searched for the release valve.

"It should be right.... there!" Varian pointed to a small switch near the top. "We should be able to swing across from that rope right here." he moved over, tugging on the rope a bit to test it and when it stayed firm, he hoisted himself up, flipping upside down and hooking his metal foot onto the rope, a precaution to ensure he wouldn't fall. He looked once back toward Eugene before moving forward, pulling himself along in an upside-down crawl across the rope.

Eugene moved to follow after him, but Varian held out a hand to stop him.

"It'd be better if the rope didn't have too much strain, I can take care of this." the boy told him, already half-way across the rope. When he finally arrived at the valve, he used one hand to flick it, a sizzling sound coming out of the balloon and Eugene could feel their altitude begin to drop slowly.

Varian turned back to Eugene and realized that his leg was facing the wrong way. Sighing, he gripped the rope hard with one hand, wrapped his left leg around the rope, and unhooked his metal leg from the string. He turned around the hook so that it was facing the right way and swung around, beginning his crawl back to Eugene.

When Varian got close, Eugene grabbed onto the boy's outstretched hand and pulled him the rest of the way, catching him when his foot came off. Varian thanked him and looked over, watching as the ground came up to meet them. The two boys grabbed onto a rope each and braced for the impact.

When it came, it shook the entire ship, and they almost fell out. Luckily, they didn't and was able to safely return to the ground. And once they were down, Rapunzel rushed over and wrapped them in a hug.

"You were amazing!" she told them and pulled back, observing the Saporians being taken away. "It's over," she said, almost to herself.

Varian looked down. "I... Rapunzel I'm really sorry for how I acted. That wasn't right."

She blinked, shocked at his words. "You... you remember?"

He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Well, yeah, I do and-"

Rapunzel's eyes lit up. "Then my parents-" and, just like that, dashed away.

Varian watched her leave and sighed. "Aren't you going to leave to?" he asked Eugene. "Not that I blame you but-"

"No!" Eugene grabbed Varian's hand to stop him from walking away. "I- I'm not going to leave you again. Alright? You- you remember my promise, don't you?"

Varian looked back, almost shocked. "I- Of course I do but-"

"But nothing." Eugene stopped him. "You're my brother and I meant what I said." his gaze fell, "And... I'm sorry that I drove you to attack the saporians. Taking care of the kingdom wasn't your job or responsibility."

Varian stared into Eugene's eyes for a beet before dropping them. "I- It's fine, not your fault I was being an idiot again."

"Hey," Eugene took both of Varian's hands, the familiar weight of them... comforting to be back in his own again. "Do you also remember what I said about making mistakes? They don't make you an idiot, they-"

"-make you human." Varian finished and a soft smile appeared on his face before a thought came to him and his expression shadowed over. "I know, it's just... I can't believe I believed that jerk," he noted dully. "Andrew... made me believe that you..." he sighed. "He told me that you were the one that took my leg."

Eugene winced when Varian half-heartedly shook his metal foot out. "Oh. Well.... that explains a lot." he went silent for a bit. "Did he... say anything else?" 

Varian hesitated, he didn't want to upset Eugene, but if he was being honest, it felt better now that he had told Eugene the first thing. Made it seem less... big. 

"He... he said that after you... took my leg, my... my dad couldn't find any use for me and... left me behind." Varian looked up timidly to see Eugene's reaction, for a bit. Eugene's gaze hardened but motioned for him to go on. 

"And... and he said that Ruddiger ran away, not liking to live in the big city and-  _ frick. _ Rudiger!" his thoughts screeched to a halt. And, without warning, he yanked his hands away from Eugene and dashed across the courtyard, frantically rushing up the steps into the castle.

Eugene doesn't hesitate to chase Varian into the castle, the boy dashing through the halls before barging into one room on the second floor. The door wasn't locked, there was nothing special about it. It was just a door, but when Varian bolted into there, Eugene didn't question it when they found Ruddiger, staring at them through the holes of his cage and chittering happily when he spotted them.

Varian rushed to unlatch the cage door and the critter jumped into his arms. Varian cried out in joy and grinned, hugging Ruddiger close.

"Heh, I've missed you to bud!" he ran a soft hand through the raccoon's fur. "They didn't hurt you right?" he smiled softly when the critter shook his head and sighed with relief. "I'm glad you're okay."

"So there's where you were, I was wondering if you'd left." Eugene strode up to the pair and Ruddiger looked at him blankly before a flash of recognition shone in his eyes and he jumped out of Varian's arms, landing excitedly on the man's shoulders, causing Eugene to fall back a step.

"Woah! Nice to see you as well you mangy rodent." Eugene greeted good-naturally as the animal snuggled against the man's neck. "It sure has been a while, hasn't it?"

Varian chuckled. "You can say that again." he smiled happily. "Try not to go disappearing for a year and we'll call it even."

Eugene returned his smiled and brought Varian in for a hug. "That's one thing I can guarantee." 

They knew that they'd eventually have to break away. Varian still hadn't been reunited with his father, and they still needed to make sure that none of the saporians had escaped, but that was for another time. 

For now, the two brothers enjoyed a hug that was  _ long _ overdue.


End file.
